1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to real-time package tracking systems, devices, and methods and, more particularly, to portable handheld devices configured to acquire information through multiple input interfaces and to provide acquired information to a central computer from remote locations. The device and its method of use are particularly useful in the field of parcel delivery and tracking. In one embodiment, the device of the present invention incorporates improvements in the Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD) presently utilized by United Parcel Service (UPS).
2. Description of Related Art
In routine package delivery services, UPS delivery drivers obtain data using a Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD). The DIAD is an electronic clipboard that replaces the driver's written documents and transmits shipment information directly into the UPS tracking system. Because the DIAD electronically records delivery information, it eliminates millions of sheets of paper per year and allows UPS to capture data and electronic signatures at a major point of contact, namely upon delivery to the recipient. Currently, more than sixty thousand delivery personnel utilize such DIADs.
To capture digital recipient signatures, the DIAD contains an LCD display having an integral (or separate) signature capture window that accepts input from a stylus. When the customer signs in the capture window using the stylus, the signature also appears on the LCD display. The DIAD's capture of digitized signatures enables these signatures to be available electronically for delivery verification. Signatures are uploaded onto a mainframe computer that is accessible by customer service representatives and by customers. Therefore, business customers who are connected electronically to UPS through secure connections (e.g., via the Internet) have access to the digitized signatures so they can pass them on to customers in response to customer inquiries. Similarly, when a customer asserts that a package was not delivered, the customer (or a customer service representative) can determine its exact status; specifically, whether the package was delivered and, if so, who signed for it.
For a typical delivery, the driver identifies a package to be delivered using a laser-scanner, built into or attached to the DIAD, to scan a bar code on the package. Additional data collected by the DIAD upon delivery is also captured using key entry, bar code scanning, electronic signature capture, and electronic data transfer. When a driver collects a package from a customer, shipping information may be captured using the DIAD by scanning a bar code on the package shipping label or by keypad entry. As with deliveries, electronic signature capture and data transfers to the DIAD can occur during a package pickup.
Although DIAD systems known in the art are effective, they have certain characteristics that limit their effectiveness in tracking package information in real time. For example, many portable electronic devices include two kinds of memory, namely a Random Access Memory (RAM) and programmable permanent memory. Generally, software applications are loaded, executed, and run in RAM. RAM is also used to receive data input by the user, as well as to display the application output or results to the user. The tasks of receiving data and displaying results are generally performed quickly in the RAM, allowing the user to input data freely, without the delay of storing the data in a more permanent memory. The amount of RAM available generally contributes to the perceived speed of the device. The speed of most RAM configurations, however, must be balanced with the risk of losing data or results. That is, RAM is sometimes called volatile memory because it requires a constant supply of electrical energy to maintain its data. As such, if the supply of electrical power is lost, the data in the RAM will also be lost.
Most types of permanent memory are non-volatile; that is, the permanent memory retains the data even if electrical power is lost. Most permanent memory is programmable, and thus suitable for storing software applications, and erasable, so that the memory can be re-programmed. Generally, selected data can be purposely stored in the permanent memory for later use. For example, the user might make ten quick data entries into the RAM, and then later store the data entries in the permanent memory.
In use, many portable electronic devices are subject to environmental forces, electronic failure, loss of power, and/or other catastrophic events that can automatically and abruptly erase the contents of the RAM. Once the input data stored in the RAM is lost, it cannot be recovered for storage in the permanent memory. Thus, there exists a need in the field of portable electronic devices for a non-volatile memory to quickly receive and store data, even in the event of a total failure of the device from a catastrophic event, and to provide long-term storage of the data. It would also be desirable to have an application program interface (API) for controlling and monitoring the status of data with respect to the non-volatile memory using the software application within the device.
Most portable electronic devices rely primarily or, in some cases, solely on a single operating system to store and access data. An operating system such as Windows™ CE is sometimes used in portable electronic devices. Because catastrophic failures and loss of power often interfere with the functioning of the operating system used in the device, there exists a need for a method of accessing stored data independently of the operating system. This task is further complicated by the variety of types of memory contained within certain portable electronic devices. The operating system is typically used to address or assign a specific location for storing a particular type of data. For example, the data for a particular package delivery might be found at a particular location or electronic address within the permanent memory of the device. Gaining access to the data without using the operating system that assigned the electronic address is very difficult and represents a current technical challenge in the field.
Customers with large numbers of packages to be delivered on a regular basis typically develop a shipping database that contains information about each package. Older portable electronic devices sometimes used a cable attachment to obtain data from the customer's database. This kind of direct link, however, sometimes interferes with and/or unduly invades a customer's private database. Also, many such customers are configuring their existing databases to be accessible over wireless networks.
Thus, there is a need for a portable electronic device that is capable of interacting with a customer's databases, with the customer's permission and while maintaining the security of the databases, without using a cable. There is also a need for an application that can obtain data from the customer's network without excessive interference or invasion into a customer's private databases or local networks. There is a further related need to provide an application program interface (API) for this feature and to control and monitor the operation thereof using the software application within the device.
Rechargeable battery packs have evolved, and some now include internal devices for governing recharging and testing functions for the battery pack. For example, a rechargeable battery may have a specific recharging station, wherein the recharging station may include indicators for the charge status of the battery, devices for testing the current capacity of the battery, and other functions for indicating the operational status of the battery pack. The demands on portable electronic devices currently in use, however, require closer management and control of the battery recharging and monitoring functions. Thus, there is a need for a system having the capacity to control and direct the recharging and testing of the battery, while the device is in use, without relying on the charging and testing system specifically associated with the battery pack and independent of the device. In other words, the technical demands placed upon devices in use today require closer management of the recharging of the battery pack. There is a related need to provide an application program interface (API) for this feature, as well as to control and monitor the operation thereof using the software application within the device.
The size and weight of the battery is a continuing technical challenge for portable electronic devices. The advent of rechargeable batteries has increased the predictability of battery life under various power usage conditions, but size and weight continue to present a technical challenge for portable device designers. There is a need, therefore, for a battery that is sized to provide sufficient power to the device during a typical work session while the user is away from the recharging station, without over-sizing the battery and creating an unnecessary size and weight burden upon the user.
Further, with regard to portable electronic devices, the increasing volume of data that can be gathered and stored on a portable electronic device has created a need for more efficient ways of storing and displaying data. Whereas older devices may have been capable of storing, for example, only an item number and a date, modern devices are capable of storing a multitude of text and numerical data about a single item or a single delivery. Thus, there exists a need for the capability of entering and displaying a multitude of data in a user-friendly and easily accessible format.
The need to enter text data into portable electronic devices has also driven the development of keypads that include every letter of the alphabet. Some designs mimic the arrangement and shape of the typical QWERTY typewriter keyboard, while others place the letters in alphabetical or some other order. The arrangement, size, and shape of the letter buttons vary depending on the particular device. However, in the field of portable electronic devices operated with two hands, there exists a need for a keypad that will accommodate the natural range of motion of the human thumbs. Thumb typing, to be efficient, requires not only a convenient key location but also a design that will account for the natural movement of the device during thumb typing. Further, because of the natural conditions in the operating environment for portable electronic devices, there also exists a need for a keypad that will accommodate gloved hands. In cold climates especially, the user may be wearing gloves during operation of the device and, thus, require keys that will be usable with a gloved hand.
The increasing use of rotary switches and dials on handheld portable devices has further created a need to develop ways to prevent accidental activation of the roller or dial, while allowing the switches to be in locations that coincide with the natural position of the fingers or hand. In devices that use a combination of generally-flat buttons and rotary dials, such components should be positioned in the areas that match the natural location of the hand, such that the buttons and the dial scan be operated with minimal, if any, repositioning of the hand.
Many handheld devices in use today provide push buttons, flat screens, and toggle switches, all of which can be configured to substantially prevent moisture intrusion into the device. A device with rotary switches, however, presents a unique challenge when the device is exposed to high levels of humidity in the operating environment. A dial for volume control, for example, or a rotary switch for scrolling through a menu or through text on a display, must be designed to freely rotate while not creating a vulnerable point for intrusion of environmental humidity and fluids. Thus, there is a need to develop water-resistant rotary switches that substantially prevent the intrusion of water and water vapor while not interfering with operation of the switch.
A variety of belt clips and other attachment units are found in the field of portable electronic devices. Many clips require the user to positively activate a lever or spring to disengage the electronic device from its clip. Providing a positive lock prevents unintentional disengagement of the unit without input from the user. This type of extracting technique, however, requires the use of two hands or at least the use of multiple parts of the same hand. For larger electronic devices and for operating environments where user efficiency would be a sacrificed if two hands were required, there is a need for a clip that is capable of allowing one-handed operation. There is also a need for a device holder that provides positive feedback to the user about the engagement status of the device to the holder. Such feedback is also needed to inform the user when the device is properly aligned for engagement, when the device has been fully engaged, and when the device has been fully disengaged. A further need exists for a device holder which allows the user to access and operate the device without disengaging the device from the holder.
Industry standards developed to test the durability of containers to shock and vibration typically provide for the container to be dropped from a measured height such that the container is free of any rotational or horizontal velocity. This kind of drop test is intended to subject the container to the downward force of gravity only. Portable devices, however, are often dropped when the user is in motion horizontally, such as when a user is walking and stumbles. Also, users sometimes exert a rotational force against a portable device while grasping it, especially just as the device is being dropped. Accordingly, there exists a need in the field of shock testing for developing a dynamic test method and an apparatus such that the falling motion of the device during the test will more closely resemble the dynamics observed in the actual operating environment.
An unsatisfied need therefore exists in the industry for a real-time package tracking system that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art, some of which are discussed herein.